Tappet adjusting tool



Oct. 9, 1951 J. HAMMOND- TAPPET ADJUSTING TOOL Filed Dec. 7, 1946Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE TAPPET ADJUSTING TOOLJ Q QP ammon fi ckfi rd Application December 7, 1945, SerialNo. 714,711;

7 Claims. 8L

- This invention relates to tappet adjusting tools designed tofacilitate the adjustment of tappets on valve-in-head engines, such asare used on Buicks and Chevrolets, these tools being, however, usablealso wherever a similarly locked screw adjustment is employed.

' The principal object of my invention is to provide a tappet adjustingtool of relatively simple and inexpensive construction and substantiallyuniversally adaptable for use in adjusting the different sized tappetscrews on engines of vari-- ous sizes and used on different makes ofcars.

A, salient feature of my tappet adjusting tool is the provision of acentering sleeve cooperating with the screw driver bit to fit over theend of the screw and facilitate engaging the bit in the slot, togetherwith a hold-down sleeve which rests on top of the wrench that is appliedto the lock nut, whereby to hold the wrench securely throughout theadjusting operation so long as the operator has hold of the handle ofthe screw driver and keeps the screwdriver bit pressed down into theslot, thus enabling the operator to let go of the wrench while checkingthe tappet adjustment with a feeler gauge.

In the preferred form the centering sleeve is separate from and has atelescoping fit in the hold-down sleeve, and there is a relatively lightcoiled compression spring acting between the sleeves urging thecentering sleeve in an outward direction, there being another relativelyheavy coiled compression spring acting between the handle and thehold-down sleeve urging that l'erences in the extent to which theadjusting screw projects from the lock nut. On the other hand, I mayprovide a hook member slidable on the shank behind said spring andarranged to be hooked under the rocker arm so as to compress the springand hold the tool in assembled working relation to the adjusting screwand the wrench on the lock nut on the rocker arm, and thereby relievethe operator of the necessity of applying the necessary downwardpressure on the handle, the heavier sprin being kept compressed bythehook member to keep the hold-down sleeve holding the wrench in placeand applying spring pressure through the other spring on the centeringsleeve to keep it in operative relationship to the screw.

' The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichvalves against the action of their springs.

thescrew driver bit 6.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through. a tanpet adjusting tool madein accordance with, my invention and shown in working position; i

' Fig. 2 is a view similar to the lower portion of Fig. 1, but.illustrating a modification; and

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 33 of Fig. .2.

Similar reference numerals are applied to cor;- respondingpartsthroughout the views.

The reference numeral 5 designates the s ank of the tool on the lowerend of which the screw driver bit 6 is formed, adapted to be entered inthe screw driver slot 1 provided in the upper end of the adjusting screw8 that is threaded in the usual way in one end of a rocker arm 9 foradjustment. of the tappets' on a valve-in-head engine. While I haveshown a screw driver bit. of conventional shape, it will be understood Imay provide one adapted to work in a criss-cross slot,

or one of hexagonal form to work in a hex socket.

As is well. known, the rocker arms 9 oscillate with respect to a shaftHi to depress the stems of the valves in the head, the end of oneof'which stems is indicated in dotted lines at H, to open these Therocker arms 9 are operated by push rods. which have separate floatingupper end sections l2 that have. sockets in their upper ends cooperatingwith the spherical lower ends I? of the adjusting screws. When a givenvalve is closed and the engine is operating at normal runningtemperature, there should be a certain small amount of clearancemeasurable with a feeler gauge between the finger M of therocker arm 9and the end of the. valve stem 1 I. In adjusting a tappet, the

lock nut l5. threaded on the upper end portion of the. screw 8 must beloosened first so that the screw can be turned one way or the other foradjust.- ment relative to the rocker arm 9, and, considering the factthat the adjustment is usually made with the engine idling, it isobviously rather awkward to loosen and tighten the nut l5 and adjust thescrew 8 and, between the loosening and tightening of the nut [5, checkthe clearance with the .feeler gauge while holding the screw 8 in anadjusted position, all while the engine is running. The tappet adjustingtool of m invention simplihe's the operation principally by holding thewrench 16 in place on the nut [5 while the clearance is being checkedwith the feeler gauge, the operator using one hand to hold the tappetad'- just-ing tool by means of the handle H and holding the feeler gaugewith the other hand. Then, as. soon asthe correct clearance has beenobtained, the "wrench [6 can be turned to tighten the nut 15 while thescrew 8 is held by means of 'The tool, in accordance with my invention,comprises a centering sleeve 18 slidable freely on the enlargedcylindrical lower end portion IQ of the shank 5, and a hold-down sleeve20 slidable freely on the outside of the centering sleeve IS, the sleeve18 having an inwardly directed annular flange portion 2| on its upperend which is arranged to have abutment with the annular shoulder 22defined on the top of the enlarged portion l9, and the sleeve 20 havingan inwardly directed annular flange 23 which serves as an abutment for acoiled compression spring 24 disposed inside the upper end portion ofthe sleeve 20 and bearing against the upper end of the sleeve l8 to urgethe sleeve l8 normally downwardly relative to the screw driver bit 6, sothat the flared lower end portion 25 of the bore of the sleeve l8 willcooperate with the upper end of the screw 8 to center the tool withrespect to the screw 8 and thereby facilitate entering the bit 6 in theslot 1 of the screw. The flare 25 terminates in a counterbore 26 whichis large enough in diameter to accommodate the largest sized adjustingscrews 8 so that this one tool can be used substantially universally fortappet adjusting work and for other screw adjustments. The spring 24 isrelatively light, and there is a relatively heavy coiled compressionspring 2! surrounding the shank above the sleeve 20 between the handlel'! and the sleeve serving to press the sleeve 20 down firmly on top ofthe socket end 28 of the wrench l6 disposed in engagement with the nut15, whereby to hold the wrench in engagement with the put under arelatively heavy spring pressure so long as the tool is in position fortappet adjustment. The lower end 29 of the sleeve 20 is enlargedradially sufficiently to engage the tops of wrenches of variousdiameters required with diiferent sized nuts 15. Now, it is obvious thatin some cases the 'screw 8 projects farther from the top of the nut l5than in others, and in order to adjust the sleeve 20 bodily relative tothe sleeve l8 in either direction quickly, I have provided an adjustingnut 30 threaded on the threaded turns of this nut in one direction orthe other will be enough to adjust the sleeve 2i! to whatever smallextent may be necessary, the spring 24 in a downward adjustment of thesleeve 29 being easily compressed as the heavier spring is adjusteddownwardly by the nut 30, and vice versa. The threaded upper end portion3| of the shank 5 has diametrically opposed fins or splines 32 extrudedtherefrom to stake the shank 5 in the bore 33 of the handle I! toprevent turning of the handle relative to the screw driver bit 6 in anadjusting operation.

In Fig. 2, I have shown a hook 34 which is arranged to be engaged underthe outer end portion of the rocker arm 9 next to the screw 8 to holdthe tappet adjusting tool in operative position with the spring 2'!compressed by the right angle upper end portion 35 of the hook member,

which has a loose fit on the shank 5a and bears and then the handle I lais raised against the resistance of spring 2! far enough to permit 4bringing the lower end of the tool into position over the screw 8 andnut l5, after which the tool is applied similarly as above described,the compressed spring 21 in this case serving to urge the tool towardthe screw and nut to facilitate the application of the tool andthereafter hold the tool in the operative opsition. It is, therefore,far less fatiguing to the operator to work with this tool because hedoes not have to bear down on it against the resistance of the spring 21to keep the tool in the operative position.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims havebeen drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a reduced coaxial upper shank portion, ascrew-centering sleeve slidable on said bit and having an inwardlyannularly shouldered upper end portion rotatable on the reduced shankand having a bore with a flared lower end portion adapted for centeringengagement over the end portion of the screw, the screw-centering sleevebeing limited by the bit end of the shank against displacement off theshank, a coiled compression spring surrounding said shank above thescrew-centering sleeve and urging said screw-centering sleeve downwardlyrelative to said shank, a wrench hold-down sleeve in slidabletelescoping relation to the centering sleeve and arranged with its lowerend approximately in the same plane with the lower end of the centeringsleeve but adapted to project slightly beyond said centering sleeve tohold down a wrench applied to the nut, and a second coiled compressionspring on the shank above the hold-down sleeve urging the latterdownwardly.

2. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a coaxial shank portion, a sleeve slidable onthe shank and having a bore with a flared lower end portion adapted forcentering engagement over the end portion of the screw, means positivelylimiting endwise movement of said sleeve downwardly relative to saidshank, a coiled compression spring surrounding said shank and urgingsaid sleeve downwardly, a second and larger diameter sleeve intelescoping relation on said first sleeve for hold-down abutment on topof the end portion of a wrench applied to the nut on the screw, saidsecond sleeve having an inwardly annularly shouldered upper end portionagainst the under side of which the upper end of the aforesaid coiledcom pression spring has abutment, a second coiled compression spring onsaid shank bearing at its lower end on top of the annularly shoulderedupper end portion of the second sleeve urging said second sleevedownwardly relative to said first sleeve, and means on said shankproviding an abutment for the upper end of said spring.

3. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked. with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a coaxial shank portion, a sleeve slidable onthe shank'and having an end portion normally projecting beyond the bitfor engagement over the end'portion of a screw and serving to confinetherebeneath a wrench applied to the nut while the screw driver bit isoperatively engaged on the screw, a coiled com-, pression springsurrounding said shank and urging said sleeve outwardly, and a hookmember in spaced substantially parallel relation to the shank and havinga transverse upper end portion remote from the hook slidable on theshank and abutting the upper end of said spring remote from the sleeve.

4. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a coaxial shank portion, a sleeve slidable onthe shank and having an end portion normally projecting beyond the bitfor centering engagement over the end portion of a screw, a coiledcompression spring surrounding said shank and urging said sleevedownwardly, a second sleeve telescoping on the first sleeve and having alower end portion arranged to confine therebeneath a wrench applied tothe nut while the screw driver bit is operatively engaged on the screw,said second sleeve enclosing said spring and having an inwardlyprojecting annular shoulder in the upper end portion thereof abuttingthe upper end of said spring, a second coiled compression spring alsosurrounding said shank and urging said second sleeve downwardly forabutment of its lower end portion on top of the end portion of thewrench applied to the nut on the screw, and a hook member in spacedsubstantially parallel relation to the shank and having a transverseupper end portion remote from the hook slidable on the shank andabutting the upper end of said second spring remote from the sleeves.

5. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a reduced coaxial upper shank portion, a screwcentering sleeve slidable on said bit and having an inwardly annularlyshouldered upper end portion rotatable on the reduced shank and having abore with a flared lower end portion adapted for centering engagementover the end portion of the screw, the screw-centering sleeve beinglimited by the bit end of the shank against displacement oil the shank,a coiled compression spring surrounding said shank above thescrew-centering sleeve and urging said a screw-centering sleevedownwardly relative to said shank, a wrench hold-down sleeve in slidabletelescoping relation to the centering sleeve and arranged with its lowerand approximately in the same plane with the lower end of the centeringsleeve but adapted to project slightly beyond said centering sleeve tohold down a wrench applied to the nut, and a second coiled compressionspring on the shank above the hold-down sleeve urging the latterdownwardly, the centering sleeve spring being relatively light and thehold-down sleeve spring being relatively heavy.

6. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a coaxial shank portion, a sleeve slidable onthe shank and having a bore with a flared lower end portion adapted forcentering engagement over the end portion of the screw, means positivelylimiting endwise movement of said sleeve downwardly on said shank, acoiled compression spring surrounding said shank and urging said sleevedownwardly, a second and larger diameter sleeve in telescoping relationon said first sleeve for hold-down abutment on top of the end portion ofa wrench applied to the nut on the screw arranged with its lower endapproximately in the same plane with the lower end of the centeringsleeve but adapted to project slightly beyond the centering sleeve tohold down a wrench applied to the nut, a second coiled compressionspring on said shank urging said hold-down sleeve downwardly relative tothe centering sleeve, and means movable endwise relative to said shankand abutting the upper end of the second spring to vary the compressionthereof and accordingly change the position of the hold-down sleeveendwise relative to the centering sleeve, or, when said sleeve isimmovable by reason of engagement with a wrench, increase the springloading thereon, the centering sleeve spring being relatively light andthe hold-down sleeve spring being relatively heavy.

7. A tool of the character described for use in adjusting a screw thatis locked with a nut that is threaded thereon, said tool comprising ascrew driver bit having a coaxial shank portion, a sleeve slidable onthe shank and having a bore with a flared lower end portion adapted forcentering engagement over the end portion of the screw, a coiledcompression spring surrounding said shank and urging said sleevedownwardly, means positively limiting movement of said sleeve downwardlyon said shank, a second and larger diameter sleeve in telescopingrelation on said first sleeve for hold-down abutment on top of the endportion of a wrench applied to the nut on the screw arranged with itslower end approximately in the same plane with the lower end of thecentering sleeve but adapted to project slightly beyond the centeringsleeve to hold down a wrench applied to the nut, a second coiledcompression spring on said shank urging said hold-down sleeve downwardlyrelative to the centering sleeve, and means movable endwise relative tosaid shank and abutting the upper end of the second spring to vary thecompression thereof and accordingly change the position of the hold-downsleeve endwise relative to the centering sleeve, or, when said sleeve isimmovable by reason of engagement with a wrench, increase the springloading thereon.

JOSEPH HAMMOND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,318,088 Klein Oct. 7, 19191,367,969 Holley Feb. 8, 1921 2,194,069 Gagne Mar. 19, 1940 2,276,470Dodelin Mar. 17, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 45,037Switzerland Oct. 19, 1908 559,030 France June 6, 1923 312,835 GreatBritain June 6, 1929

